THIS month's Para Sport Festival is set to be bigger and better than ever before.

And school pupils from across the region are being invited to take part.

Young athletes from the Borders will join competitors from Edinburgh and the Lothians on Friday, March 23 at Forrester/St Augustine’s High School in Edinburgh

The 2018 event will take a different format to previous years, offering an opportunity for young people with a physical impairment to try swimming, tennis, triathlon and wheelchair basketball during the morning of the event.

And the afternoon session will welcome children with sensory impairments to try athletics, goalball, judo and swimming.

Powerchair users are also encouraged to attend and try sports such as athletics, boccia and powerchair football.

Neal Herbert from the organising committee told us: "The event, previously named the Paralympic Experience Event, is entering its seventh year and provides a fantastic opportunity for primary and secondary aged young people to experience some of the sports that are successfully showcased at major events such as the Paralympic Games.

"The activities selected reflect the strong club structure in the region and will aim to ignite the transition from the event to more regular sporting activity with one or more of the session’s being delivered."

The festival is a partnership event between Scottish Disability Sport, Edinburgh Active Schools, Lothian Disability Sport and Edinburgh Leisure who work together, along with local club coaches, to offer sessions to the children and young people from East Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, the Scottish Borders and West Lothian.

This year’s event will also be supported by Celtic Community Foundation.

Further details and entry forms are available from www.scottishdisabilitysport.com/east-of-scotland-para-sport-festival-2018/